


Toy Soldier

by PitofInsanity



Series: Toy Soldier [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alien Biology, CG!Spinel, Mild Blood, Non-Graphic Violence, Past Abuse, Self-Esteem Issues, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-18 13:04:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21661276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PitofInsanity/pseuds/PitofInsanity
Summary: She knows why he wants a weapon. He wants to help. Wants to be like his heroes.Hah, imagine. Her a hero. She grins ruefully at the thought.Or, Steven summons a weapon.(A CG!Spinel story set during S1E1: Gem Glow. May or may not be OOC)
Relationships: Spinel & Steven Universe
Series: Toy Soldier [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1563904
Comments: 10
Kudos: 117





	Toy Soldier

**Author's Note:**

> A note to new readers, 
> 
> This work is part of a series written in non-chronological order and as such, each entry is written to stand alone to the best of its ability while still keeping continuity with the rest of the AU. That being said, this is the official "starting point" of the story.
> 
> The non-chronological nature of this series also means that references to other works in this series may be present. Therefore, a list of recommended fics to continue with, if desired, is found below.
> 
> 1\. "Someday, Somewhere, Somehow"  
> 2\. "Bandages"
> 
> Again, this series can be read in any order with the basic premise being that Spinel has been a Crystal Gem since the war.

“Spinel,” Steven says, plopping himself down on the edge of the porch with a sigh, “How do you summon your weapon?”

Spinel flinches, carving knife skipping over the surface of the small wooden figure in her hands. She frowns, though whether it’s at the gouge she made in the wood or the fact that she reacted at all, she’s not too sure. 

It’s not like she didn’t see this coming. When his gem had glowed for the first time that morning, she and the others had all but trampled over each other in their eagerness to teach him how to use it. And Steven, being young and enthusiastic as ever, demanded they teach him how to summon a weapon. Spinel had frozen in place at the request, but her hesitance had gone unnoticed amidst all the excitement.

It seemed the others had failed though. And now he was here. Asking _her_.

Just her luck.

“Why do you even want one?”

“Huh?”

She stares at the knife in her hand, wondering how to reply. She knows the answer. Of course, she does. He wants to help. Wants to be like his heroes.

Imagine, her a _hero_. She grins ruefully at the thought. 

The edge of the blade glints dangerously in the sunlight.

“Nevermind,” she says, at last, pocketing the knife and the carving in her gem. She gets up to go inside, but pauses at the door, debating. “Emotion…” she sighs, eventually. She never could say no to him. “I summon my weapon through strong emotion.”

It’s not the whole truth, but it’s better than nothing at least.

He doesn’t follow her in, and for that, she’s grateful.

* * *

_She’s not made for war. Spinel knows that by heart. She’s meant for entertainment, meant to uplift, meant to be a friend-_

_No._

_Not a friend. A toy. Just a toy._

_Her diamond made that clear._

_So when she’s finally free of that wretched prison of a garden and introduced to the rest of Pink’s-_ _Rose’_ _rebellion she gets straight to work. She’s a little rusty after a thousand years of no movement, but the others don’t seem to mind._

_She sings, and she dances, and she listens, and she comforts. She even spars when needed, though she’s not too good at it. By the end of two weeks, she knows everyone by name. Knows their dreams and their fears. She’s a big hit in camp._

_And if the jokes shared are sometimes at her expense, and if occasionally the sparring gets a little too rough well… It’s fine, right? She’s a toy, sturdily built. She can take a hit._

_(The bruises and cutting remarks get worse as the death toll climbs higher. Spinel learns to cry in the rain and nurse her wounds in the dark. She can’t hide it all though, but thankfully no one seems to notice her growing silence.)_

* * *

Her advice falls short like she hoped it would. But unfortunately, the boy is stubborn. 

Steven gathers everyone later in an effort to recreate the moment his gem first glowed. And while Spinel would normally be more than happy to join Amethyst and Garnet in humoring his request, she can’t quite seem to ignore the anxiousness that gnaws at her heart. Even Pearl’s complaints about the ridiculousness of the idea only brings a weak smile to her lips. Still, she stands dutifully with the others, despite her reservations. 

She hopes no one sees her relief when nothing happens. 

Schooling her features, she lays a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, kid. I’m sure-”

The entire house rocks on its foundation as something huge scurries up the side.

Garnet reacts first, summoning her gauntlets in a flash of light. “Pearl, Amethyst, with me! Spinel! Make us an opening.”

“With pleasure,” growls Spinel under her breath, channeling the stress of the day into action. She reaches a hand into her gem and digs through her emotions. Pain, and anger, and fear solidify under her fingers as she pulls the staff of her weapon free. The familiar blade of her scythe extends with a flick of her wrist.

Garnet wrenches the door open and Spinel launches herself out on coiled legs. She hits the sand rolling, bringing a hand to her mouth to whistle sharp and clear. The centipede-like creature turns to face her, mandibles snapping in agitation. She grins.

“Yeah, that’s right ya’ big lug. Come and get me!”

The corrupted gem is on her in a flash. She dodges messily, feet scrambling for purchase on the soft sand. The creature takes the bait eagerly, joining her in the dance of war, as she waits for the others to get in place. Then a misstep lands her right in its strike path. 

She hits the cliff wall hard. 

Groaning, she sits up, spitting ink. It takes a moment for her head to stop ringing and she’s grateful for the others keeping the creature at bay. The enemy is quick and agile, however, and a well-aimed wave of corrosive spit soon has the three cowering behind a large rock.

“Leave them _alone_!”

Spinel whips her head around just in time to see Steven launch something pink and frisbee-like straight at the creature. It hits its mark, slamming into the side of the monster’s head with a loud _clang_. The enemy turns to face the boy, death in its eye.

It lunges.

Spinel sees red.

* * *

_She’s not supposed to be here. Not supposed to fight. But with all the losses they had suffered they needed all hands on deck. So they shoved a sword in her hands and sent her out._

_And now here she is, trapped and trembling. The black ichor of her life’s blood dribbles down the side of her head. Even with all the sparring she’s endured, the sword shakes in her grip, useless as a twig._

_The two gems cornering her laugh mockingly. One wrenches the sword out of her hands with ease. The other grabs her chin and pins her against the wall._

_“So_ _this_ _is what the so-called ‘rebellion’ has to offer?_ _Pathetic_ _.”_

_Spinel struggles against the grip, whimpering. Stars, she’s really going to die here, isn’t she?_

_Then the whimpering turns to giggling, turns to laughter, turns to full-on mania. Because it’s_ _funny_ _, isn’t it? Hilarious, even. She’s going to die, and for_ _what_ _? For a gem she’s not sure ever saw her as a person? For a cause she never really felt had a place for her?_

_The gem holding her shakes her roughly, growling, “You think this is_ _funny_ _, do you? You think this is a_ _game_ _?”_

_Spinel feels something in her snap and she grins lazily. “A game? Heh… You’re right! It_ _is_ _a game. It was_ _always_ _a game! Lives on the line, winner takes all. So… shall we begin?”_

_Something emerges from her gem, something that wasn’t there before. It’s terrifying and it’s liberating, as she finally,_ _finally_ _lets the dam of her rage burst open._

_She swings the scythe with all her might, laughing all the while._

* * *

Spinel stands in the middle of the ruined beach, panting. Green blood drips down her arms as she holds her weapon at the ready. Eyes searching frantically for any sign of attack.

“That was so _cool_!”

The sound of Steven’s voice jolts her back to reality. The grip on her scythe tightens as she whirls around for a headcount. Garnet kneels a little ways away, bubbling the corrupted gem. Pearl fuses over Steven while he beams at Spinel with stars in his eyes. And Amethyst…

“Spins! Dude! Why didn’t you _tell_ me you could fight like that? No wonder Garnet lets you out on solo missions!” says Amethyst, patting her roughly on the back. 

Spinel stumbles forward, fighting the urge to swing. She laughs shakily and shrugs. “S’not that big of a deal…”

“Are you kidding?” yells Steven, “That was _awesome_! You were all like, _whoosh_! And the monster was like, _ahhhhh_! And…” he trails off, noticing her grimace. “Wait is… is something wrong?”

“Nothing!” she says a little too quickly. She winces. 

(It’s not really a lie. The only thing wrong is Spinel, herself, and the manic glee that accompanies every one of her fights. But he doesn’t need to know that.)

“Just… kid, you _do_ realize just how grounded you are, right?”

“B-but I helped!”

Spinel stares at his dejected form, remembering the first time she held him. She’d been worried then. Scared that she would hurt him. Taint him.

She still worries about that. But maybe… 

A shield. His weapon is a _shield_.

Maybe he still has a chance to turn out okay, despite her influence.

“You did, and I’m proud,” she says fondly. “Still grounded though.”

  
  



End file.
